100 Grasps for Life
by Regardless1604
Summary: Follow Xion through a post-apocalyptic world, and the struggles she and her family face to keep their lives... and their sanity. Wishing-Fire's AU Challenge. ON HIATUS.
1. Smile

**I've been waiting to do this AU challenge for a while, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what to do! And then one night I was thinking, and BAM! Post-apocalypse? Totally! And well, this is AU and all, so all the Nobodies have their hearts, yata yata yata. So with that said, please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor do I own any of the theme ideas, as that they belong to Wishing-Fire. Thanks for another great challenge!**

**Hard to Come By**

Living in the tiny farming town, there wasn't much to smile about anymore. Xion looked out at the poor farmers, tilling the hard ground. It was almost impossible to grow anything anymore. The girl couldn't remember what it is was like before the apocalypse—this was all she had ever known. Since she was little, she had lived here with her father. Eventually two other boys came to stay with them also. Twins—Roxas and Ventus. They had no parents, and came to the two starving and ragged. Xaldin was hesitant at first to take them in, but his daughter begged, not realizing that it would cost them a portion of their scarce food and supplies.

But Xion was glad that they were with them. A weary smile lined her frown-etched face as she thought about her "brothers." Her family was all she really had, but she loved them dearly.

**A/N: That's right, I made Xaldin Xion's father. Ah! I can't wait to get this really going! Oh, and yes, reviews are greatly appreciated :)**


	2. Eternity

**Wow, thanks so much for the reviews and favorites and alerts and all that stuff! And that was only for the first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own nothin'.**

**Forever Desolate**

Would this be the quality of life forever? Would the world never return to its former glory, just to remain a wasteland for all of eternity?

Xion wondered these questions every day, looking out at the dull sunset. But something was different today. The setting blazing ball looked hazier than usual, like a cloud of disaster heading toward some of the last residents on the planet.

The girl dropped her bucket of filthy water and ran inside of the shanty.

"Dad?" She called, but there was no answer. Had the monsters come again? Had they taken away her father like they did to Roxas and Ven's parents?

Xion ran outside, frantically searching for her father, but relief came quickly.

Xaldin was standing outside of the empty goat pen, looking at the sunset with a grim expression clouding his face and muttered, "I must go talk to Vexen about this tomorrow."

**A/N: Just to answer a question you may or may not have, no, the monsters are not Heartless, but they do resemble the small Shadow Heartless.**


	3. Rivalry

**Yay, third chapter! It kind of ends at a weird note to end a chapter at, but these are so short that it's hard to do otherwise.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline.**

**Disliked**

Xion followed her father to the "mayor's" house the next day. As they approached the dingy shack where Vexen lived alone, a wave of anxiety washed over the girl, preparing herself for the upcoming argument.

She didn't like Vexen very much. Her father also didn't get along well with him—they were both the oldest men in town, surviving the devastating events at an older age than the rest of the small group of survivors. Vexen happened to win a bet over her father years ago when the town was first started, scraping along to even survive the first year.

The two men had both wanted to look over the town, to make sure that it thrived in the filthy remains of the world. Both men were too stubborn to work together, so when Vexen won, they had become rivals. So naturally, Xion didn't like whoever her father didn't like.

**A/N: Reviews are quite welcome :)**


	4. Judgment

**This story seems like it's going sooo slowly.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KH.**

**Decision**

"Stay here." Xaldin commanded as he opened the door.

"B-but, I want to come with you!" Xion exclaimed. "I… I want to know what's going to happen." She put her head down.

"It may be nothing, but—" Her father looked up at the sun, dulling shining overhead. "—it is best not to take chances."

Xaldin walked into the house, shutting his small daughter out. She listened as best as she could through the door for the next ten minutes, only hearing shouts and angry words.

Her father finally came out of the house in a huff. "Come, Xion, we are leaving."

"Back home?"

"No… we're leaving for good."

Before she could react, Vexen came out. "Fool! You will cause the end of you and your family!"

"Maybe… but it's our best chance of surviving." Xaldin responded darkly.

Xion usually trusted her father's judgment, but now… what was happening?


	5. Laughter

**Dang it, I really, really hate the word count, it's cutting up all of my chapters weirdly... I guess that's why it's a challenge.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

**No More**

The two walked back to their small house in silence. Before they even reached the door, Xion could hear Roxas and Ven's laughter. They were so carefree… it almost made Xion a little jealous. She was only thirteen—so were the twins—but she just couldn't survive a day without worrying about where their next meal was coming from, or how her dear father would cope with each struggle filled day.

The cheerful laughter stopped as soon as the boys saw the grim expressions.

"What is it? Did the goats get attacked again?" Roxas asked.

"No, the goats are fine. Xion, boys, go pack your things. We're leaving in the morning."

"Why?" Ventus asked in surprise. "This is the only place with life! How… how will we survive out there?"

"It's the only way to keep our lives, with the ensuing storm. Vexen is a fool to stay." Xaldin spat.

**A/N: Gah! Weird ending! Ugh, I can't believe I ended it on such a random note.**


	6. Tiny

**Woo, sixth chapter!**

**Leaving**

Xion felt the ridiculing looks on her back the next morning as her family left town, and Xaldin was still reluctant to explain why they had to leave.

As they stopped at the edge of town, a boy ran up to them.

"Roxas, Ven… I'm going to miss you! You're the only boys my age here…" Sora looked pained.

"Me too." Roxas replied. "But here, take this." He handed his friend a wooden knife that they were always messing around with. "I'll… see you around."

Sora went back to the villagers with the precious treasure in his hands. There were only about twenty people living there, and now five people were leaving, possibly to their deaths—or their survival.

Vexen spat one last time. "You'll never survive."

Xaldin ignored him, and charged ahead into the wilderness. Xion felt tiny as she stepped out with her family into the vast world.


	7. If

**Okay, for any of you who are reading this story and are thinking "Dang, these chapters are short!" well, they're supposed to be. The rules say that each chapter must be exactly 150 words. If I could use as many as I wanted, the chapters would be way longer. I hope this clarifies any misunderstanding.**

**Not Assured**

They just walked in silence. Xion looked over her shoulder, not able to see the small place she had called home any longer. So much was weighing down on her heart that she stopped.

The others looked at her. "Xion, come now, do not stop walking." Her father said.

"No." Her voice quivered. "I… I want answers! Why did we have to leave?" She didn't expect an answer, but there was always room for surprises.

Xaldin sighed. "That haze, the one covering the sky, I've seen it once before."

"What is it?" Ventus asked.

"It's the same thing that took my wife… and my other daughter. It's a toxic cloud, and it will destroy anything it comes in contact with. People, crops, animals… if we leave, it may ensure our survival."

This didn't comfort Xion. It was only an _if_. Who knew what other horrors this world held in store?


	8. Enchantment

**Dream**

She looked at her father's smiling face, and saw the twins and her older sister too, the one who had passed years ago. Yuffie… Xion could barely remember what she looked like. They were all walking down a path, under a bright blue sky. The girl could barely remember what a flower looked like, but she pictured them everywhere. Only one thing could make this dream better—her mother. And that one person she wanted came down the road, completing the enchanting moment. Xion wished that she would never wake up from this dream, but life was a cruel thing.


	9. Dancer

**I really wanted to add a lot more onto this chapter, which is actually my favorite one so far, but the stupid word count got in the way. Hmm, such is life.**

**Flames**

It was the second day on their trip, and nothing bad had happened—yet. Darkness had fallen again, and the small group stopped for the night. They didn't have much, as always: a few thin mats to sleep on, some food, their goat Poppy, some weapons, and the clothes on their backs. Nothing else.

They had setup a small fire, which would hopefully scare the wild creatures away. But if they could kill an animal, they could have fresh meat…

As Xion watched the fire, there seemed to be figures among the flames. Women, dancing around in circles as the orange and red flames licked up and disappeared. They looked so graceful, so happy… maybe it was just her imagination, but the little dancers were mesmerizing. Xion decided that she would try dancing too, so she got up and twirled in small circles around the fire—the others didn't object.


	10. Excuse

**For this chapter, please don't review something like "OMG, you're making Xion act like such a crybaby! I hate you!" Okay, I doubt any of you would review that harshly, but still, I think I would break too if I was in this position. Besides, Xion _does_ appear to be a little unstable in the game, so...**

**Weary**

Her shoulders hurt, and her feet were dragging on the ground… Xion just wanted an excuse to sit down and cry. She was just so weary from travelling for a week and a half now, that her emotions had worn down too. Her father said that they would reach a safe place soon, but their food was running out fast. Besides, she didn't believe him, as much as Xion wanted to. Where else would people live in this broken world? Then she remembered that Roxas and Ven must have come from somewhere else, which sparked her hope, but the tiny fire went out quickly.

Xion tried so hard to be strong so that she wouldn't bother her father, but she was only a girl. Girls had more emotion than boys, which she honestly wasn't proud of. She stopped and fell to the ground. Excuse or not, she just needed to cry.


	11. Inspiration

**Radio**

"Xion, we are almost there," Xaldin said as he walked to his daughter.

"I… I just want to go home. How do we even know that there's other people out there?" Xion's face was crestfallen.

Xaldin knelt next to the girl. "Perhaps… perhaps I have something that will give you inspiration to go on." He dug around in the pack, then pulled out a small box.

"What's that?" Roxas asked as the boys sat down.

"It's a radio communicator," He replied.

Xion didn't know what that meant, and apparently Roxas and Ven didn't either.

"It will help us contact other people, the ones in the town that we're heading to." He flipped a few switches, while the kids looked on curiously.

The thing hummed to life, with little blinking lights. It fascinated Xion, and when the voices came over the signal, her face split into a grin.

"Let's… let's go!"


	12. Move

**Almost There**

The extra motivation of knowing that there were other people out there gave Xion an extra burst of strength—physical _and_ mental—to keep going, but it started to wear away quickly. As they were on the move, her energy slowly ebbed.

Four more days they had been traveling since she had broken down, and she was almost ready to do it again. Not out of mental anguish, but for the lack of physical endurance. Yes, she did have a lot of stamina, but she had never gone on for so long before. As she looked at the others, she could sense how tired the twins were, and traces of weariness lined her father's eyes.

But the next day, as Xion strained her eyes, she could see the outline of buildings—they had almost made it. A few weeks ago, the girl had never even dreamed of moving somewhere else.


	13. Shades of Grey

**The line in this chapter "Xion's heart jumped" just didn't feel right to me, haha.**

**Despair**

As they approached the new village, Xion's heart jumped. There were real people. They smiled lightly and greeted the newcomers, even calling Xaldin by name. They must have been the ones her father had contacted.

But with careful inspection, Xion noticed something weird about the town—there was almost no color. All of the buildings were grey and rundown, and even the dirt looked dry and sickly, if that was possible. The sun seemed to be shining even less over here, and instead of casting a warm glow, a chilling wind swept through the valley. As far as she could see, the toxic cloud wasn't even over here, but it was still a depressing scene.

Even the people's skin looked grey, like they hadn't gotten any sun in years. They may have worn happy smiles, but their eyes told the truth. They were in a state of cold, grey despair.


	14. Burn

**Deception**

"Welcome to our town," One of the ladies walked forward. She wore a lovely, warm smile, but her eyes shown with something other than despair, though Xion couldn't place what it was. "I'm Larxene," She continued in a sweet feminine voice. "I run things around here. And I take it that you're here to stay awhile?"

Xaldin nodded and explained about how they had fled their last home.

"I see," She gave the children a sympathetic look, but Xion decided that didn't look quite… genuine. "Well, then, we'll just have Naminé here show you around. Isn't that right?" She looked sharply at a smaller blonde girl.

Naminé nodded and stepped forward, but she had a fearful expression when she looked at Larxene. Xion finally placed what she saw in the woman. Despite her gentle words and sweet appearance, a cruel and power hungry fire burned in those piercing green eyes.


	15. Blueberry

**I'm going to try my best to get all the characters in, well, character. But honestly, I think Larxene is going to be the easiest.**

**Adjustment**

Xion wasn't sure what to think of Larxene, but she got the feeling that she was an evil woman. Naminé looked relieved when they were out of her sight. As Xaldin and the boys looked around the town—which actually appeared to be more prosperous then their last one—Xion tried to talk to the village girl.

"Why does everyone look so afraid around Larxene?" She asked.

Naminé's eyes widened and she looked around frantically. "N-no reason. She's good to us…" But the way the girl's voice wavered, Xion got the idea that she was lying, but didn't want to prod.

She looked around awhile more, then spotted a peculiar bush with blue things on it. "What's that?"

"You've never seen a blueberry bush?" Naminé asked in disbelief.

Xion shook her head. "No, I don't even know what that is." This town was strange; she would need time to adjust.


	16. Salty

***sigh* There was so much more that I wanted to put in this one. The last line wasn't explained very well...**

**Depression**

Xion savored the salted piece of meat—she rarely got any kind of food like this. There were so many new things to take in about this town. New flavors, plants, animals… the three children had never even seen a cow before!

But as much as Xion and her family enjoyed this new safe haven, she could feel a heavy cloud of depression hanging over it. Something was keeping them back from being happy, even in their prosperous state. Despair washed the town over with a cold, grey light. Xaldin had passed it for being the part of the world they were in, but he still seemed worried.

The longer the family stayed in the town, the more Xion could feel it sucking away their joy, even though they should've been quite happy in this place. Soon the saltiness she tasted wasn't from food—it was from her bitter tears.


End file.
